The total cost of an EB-2 green card usually falls between $8,000 and $20,000 once you add government filing fees, PERM recruitment expenses, attorney fees, the medical exam, and credential evaluations. How that bill gets split depends on the route: with employer sponsorship, federal rules force the company to pay for the labor certification stage while you typically cover adjustment of status; with a National Interest Waiver, you self-petition and pay for everything.
USCIS Filing Fees
The first government fee lands when Form I-140, the immigrant petition, is filed. The filing fee is $715.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers Employers filing the I-140 must also pay an Asylum Program Fee, which ranges from $0 for small nonprofits up to $600 for companies with more than 25 employees. Both are employer costs in a sponsored case.
Once a visa number is available in your category, you file Form I-485 to adjust status to permanent resident.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status The I-485 fee is $1,440, which includes biometrics. This one is on you, not the employer.
Each dependent spouse and child needs a separate I-485. Children under 14 filing together with a parent pay a reduced $950.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule A family of four with two young children adds $3,340 in I-485 filings on top of yours.
Work and Travel Permits During Adjustment
Since April 2024, the Employment Authorization Document and advance parole travel permit carry their own filing fees separate from the I-485.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status Budget them as line items. If you already hold valid H-1B status and won’t travel internationally, you may be able to skip both.
If You Process Abroad Instead
If you are outside the United States when your visa number is current, you go through consular processing rather than filing I-485. The immigrant visa application fee for employment-based cases is $345 per person,4U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services considerably less than the $1,440 I-485 fee, though it comes with a mandatory interview and less flexibility if your job situation changes.
PERM Labor Certification Costs
Employer-sponsored EB-2 cases require a PERM labor certification from the Department of Labor before the I-140 can be filed. There is no government filing fee for the PERM application itself,5U.S. Department of Labor. Permanent Labor Certification but the recruitment it requires is not cheap.
Federal regulations require newspaper advertisements on two Sundays in a paper of general circulation for the job’s location.6eCFR. 20 CFR 656.17 Basic Labor Certification Process Professional positions need at least three more recruitment steps, such as job fair postings, professional journal ads, or campus recruitment. Newspaper ads run $1,000 to $3,000 depending on city and publication, and the full recruitment package usually costs $2,000 to $5,000.
You cannot legally pay any of it. Federal regulation prohibits the employer from passing PERM-related costs, including attorney fees for that stage, to the worker.7eCFR. 20 CFR 656.12 Improper Commerce and Payment The rule reaches wage concessions, kickbacks, and unpaid labor. An employer who tries to shift these costs risks denial or revocation of the labor certification and being barred from future sponsorships.
National Interest Waiver: You Pay Everything
The National Interest Waiver is an EB-2 subcategory that lets you skip PERM and self-petition on Form I-140 if you can show your work sufficiently benefits the United States to justify waiving labor certification. No PERM means no recruitment ads, no employer sponsor, and no requirement to keep working for the company that filed for you.
The financial trade-off is that no one else pays. Government fees don’t change: the I-140 is still $715 and the I-485 is still $1,440.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers Attorney fees for NIW cases typically run $5,000 to $8,000 because the work centers on drafting a strong petition letter and gathering expert recommendation letters. A self-petitioned NIW case often totals $7,000 to $12,000 once you add the medical exam and credential evaluation.
Medical Exam and Vaccinations
Every green card applicant needs a medical exam on Form I-693 from a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. The applicant pays. The exam itself runs $200 to $500 depending on location.
Vaccinations push the total higher. USCIS requires proof of immunization against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus, hepatitis B, pertussis, and other diseases on the CDC’s list.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements Missing shots run $50 to $200 each. Exam plus vaccinations commonly comes to $500 to $1,000. Health insurance sometimes covers the vaccines as preventive care but rarely the civil surgeon’s fee.
Credential Evaluations and Translations
Because EB-2 requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability, USCIS needs proof of your credentials. A foreign degree needs an evaluation from an accredited agency such as WES or ECE, generally $100 to $300 depending on the type and turnaround.
Non-English documents need certified translation, usually $30 to $50 per page. A full transcript and diploma might run 10 to 20 pages, and applicants with extensive foreign-language documentation can spend $500 or more, especially when dependents have their own credentials to translate.
Attorney Fees
Total legal fees for a full employer-sponsored EB-2 sequence generally fall between $5,000 and $15,000, covering the PERM, I-140, and I-485 stages. Audits, requests for evidence, and complicated employment histories push toward the top of that range.
The employer must pay all attorney fees for the PERM stage.7eCFR. 20 CFR 656.12 Improper Commerce and Payment If one attorney represents both sides during PERM, the employer covers the whole PERM bill. For I-140 and I-485, the split is negotiable. Some employers pay everything as a retention benefit; others expect you to fund your own adjustment. Get the arrangement in writing before recruitment begins.
Repayment Clauses if You Leave Early
Some offer letters require you to reimburse the company for sponsorship costs if you leave within 12 to 24 months of getting your card. An employer can generally recover costs from stages beyond PERM, but cannot claw back costs they were legally required to pay under the labor certification rules. Enforceability depends on the exact contract language and the jurisdiction. Have a lawyer look at any repayment provision before you sign.
Premium Processing
Standard I-140 processing can stretch past a year. Premium processing buys a guaranteed response window. As of March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for Form I-140 is $2,965.9USCIS. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees For standard employer-sponsored EB-2, USCIS commits to action within 15 business days. For the National Interest Waiver, the window is 45 business days rather than 15.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing The response can be an approval, denial, notice of intent to deny, or request for evidence.
Either party can pay the fee, but the employer cannot use it as a workaround to shift PERM-stage costs to you. Paying it yourself for personal career reasons is fine.
Total Cost by Pathway
Real-world totals for the two main routes, showing the split:
- Employer-sponsored EB-2 with PERM, employer’s share: I-140 filing fee ($715), Asylum Program Fee (up to $600), PERM recruitment ($2,000 to $5,000), and PERM-stage attorney fees ($2,000 to $5,000). Roughly $5,000 to $11,000.
- Employer-sponsored EB-2 with PERM, your share: I-485 filing fee ($1,440), medical exam and vaccinations ($500 to $1,000), credential evaluation ($100 to $300), attorney fees for I-140 and I-485 stages if negotiated to you ($2,000 to $8,000), and premium processing if desired ($2,965). Roughly $4,000 to $14,000.
- EB-2 National Interest Waiver, all on you: I-140 filing fee ($715), I-485 filing fee ($1,440), attorney fees ($5,000 to $8,000), medical exam ($500 to $1,000), credential evaluation ($100 to $300), and premium processing if desired ($2,965). Roughly $7,500 to $14,500.
Dependents add $950 to $1,440 each in I-485 fees, plus a medical exam per person. A family of four filing together can easily tack on $4,000 to $6,000. These numbers do not capture the indirect cost of waiting, which matters most for applicants from countries with long EB-2 backlogs where years may pass between I-140 approval and visa availability.